Behind the Scenes: Restaurants at Thanksgiving

Bobby Lee, The Big Texan

While many are choosing to eat a home cooked Thanksgiving meal, thousands of others are flocking to area restaurants to celebrate.

We went behind the scenes at The Big Texan and Furr's to meet the people who are putting in lots of overtime to make sure their customers enjoy Thanksgiving. "Well I got here around 2:30 this morning started cooking the turkey and the ham." This in Nancy Naranjo's 30th Thanksgiving working at The Big Texan. "Fill up the line, keep the line stocked up, keep everything going." She's making sure everything runs smoothly for a crowd of more than two thousand hungry people. People like Doug Cope, who's been coming there for six years. "It's keeps me from having to do the dishes at home." But somebody has to, and that's where Demond Tyson comes in. "Gotta make ends meet even if that means working on a holiday." While most are leaving dirty dished filled with leftover turkey, others are opting for a less traditional meal. Tammy Thomas says, "I've been cooking a lot of steaks." She's putting in extra time at the grill for a few patrons, up for a Thanksgiving challenge.

Co-Owner Bobby Lee says, "We even have people trying the 72 ounce steak on Thanksgiving." Over at Furrs, John Braxton isn't stepping away from the grill either... He's been cooking thanksgiving meals for more than 25 years. "It's a little different because you ain't there with your family and all of that, but still it's like my family." A second family Renia Lovejoy is proud to be a part of. Thursday are usually her day off, but she doesn't mind coming in on Thanksgiving. In fact, she actually looks forward to working. "We are a blessing to so many people who don't have families, and that's what Thanksgiving is about. To be a blessing to other people." We didn't meet a single worker today who was unhappy about working on Thanksgiving... And that's something all the customers we spoke with says is what keeps them coming back.